Long Winded
by Babelvr54
Summary: They finally get their act together. A Babe story. The complete story should be up in a few hours. Have fun! Now COMPLETE


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It was a slow day for Ranger, all Rangeman business had been dealt with. Hiring an office manager was the best executive decision he and Tank had ever made. All the stupid paperwork they had to deal with was now no longer in their job description.

With a little time on his hands, he decided to visit his Babe. He was honestly proud of the progress she had made in the past year. She had finally gotten the training she needed and started her own PI business, she also taught self-defence classes and had taken on learning sign-language.

Ranger was most relieved when she came to him for help in searching for a new residence. Her home was now a secure three bedroom house with a beautiful backyard, large enough to host a party of 60 people. They held their Rangeman annual barbecue there three months ago.

Did he mention that the property was secured by Rangeman? That was a whole other debate, they had a three day argument over why he needed to install an electric fence and if all those cameras were really necessary. Her safety was his obsession, so yes it was necessary.

He let himself into her home, yes he now had a key, and was surprised when he was hit by a warm aroma. He found her in the kitchen pulling out what smelled like lasagne with a tea towel.

He waited for her to place the baking tray on the kitchen counter before announcing his presence.

"Babe" he called out, there was a hint of surprise in his voice. He'd never thought that she was interested in cooking, though her eating habits had considerably improved.

She turned around in surprise and had a guilty look on her face. Did she not want him to know about the cooking? Was she hoping to surprise him? His brain promptly disregarded the last thought, they hadn't been intimate for the past year, there was no touching, no kissing and definitely no grouping. Though, as far as he knew, she wasn't seeing anyone.

"Ranger! What are you doing here?" she asked

"Had some spare time Babe, thought we'd catch up" he replied, "do you have plans?" he asked as an afterthought. He had been giving her space to get settled with all the changes happening in her life, but no way in hell was he going to step back and let her date another man.

"Yes Ranger, I'm having someone over for dinner."

"And you cooked for him?" he asked, something akin to jealousy colouring his voice. She never cooked for _him_.

"Well, considering that he taught me this recipe, I only though it was fair" She snapped back. This was driving him insane, this unknown man was teaching her how to cook, spending time with her _and_ having dinner with her.

Think Ranger, you've planned and executed countless missions before with a 100% success rate, except that one time in Vegas with that stripper and Lester… but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. He was banned from the state of Nevada after that. Fucking Santos.

Just as he was contemplating murder, the doorbell rang. "What's cooking beautiful? I brought dessert!" Lester's voice rang out loud and clear.

Lo and behold, there was his cousin, in the flesh.

There were flowers in his hands, beautiful red roses. Red. Roses. Red, meaning love.

Ranger saw red and lunged for Lester, landing a solid punch square on his jaw. There was a brief brawl and the men were rolling on the floor of Stephanie's living room.

"STOP!" Stephanie's voice cut through the red haze in Ranger's mind.

The boys immediately rolled off each other, still glaring. The flowers lay abandoned on the couch and the dessert cheesecake Lester was thankfully still safe.

Ranger looked up to see _his Babe_ glaring at him. Her hands shaking as she tried to keep her fury in. He was surprised once again when instead of shouting at his, she spoke in a deceivingly soft voice "You have no right to come into my home and threaten my guest. I want you to leave and think about your actions. Think of this as time out. I'll come by tomorrow morning and we can discuss your reaction."

"We can talk now Babe. I can take you out to dinner, or we can eat in here, that lasagne smells delicious." His voice was almost whiney. He really didn't want to leave _his Babe_ with his stupid cousin.

"Ranger if you don't leave right this second I will call your mother and tell her about your behaviour and then you can explain to Maria Manoso why you were behaving like a child. Leave. Now."

Not for the first time, Ranger wondered how his mother and his Babe had ended up keeping in contact after meeting one time. His mother now smacked him on his head every time he went for dinner. He was losing brain cells here.

Deciding to keep his pride, he silently walked out of her home. They would be having a nice long discussion tomorrow about their future and how it would involve no other men. Or women.

RSRSRSRS

Stephanie apologised to Lester, who just smirked at her as he realised what Ranger must have been thinking.

A couple of months ago Lester had come to her with a sour face, telling her that he was doomed to be alone for the rest of his life because he could never find the right kind of girl. He wanted to settle down, but his wild player days kept haunting him.

Stephanie on the other hand had always wanted to learn to cook, but her mother didn't have the patience and Dickie had never appreciated her efforts. She had given it up mainly to spite her mother and Morelli, but she realised that it only made her life unhealthy. She made Lester a deal, she would help him with his love life and he would teach her how to cook.

Steph had then set up Lester with her college roommate, Tina, and they hit it off immediately. Lester had been taking it slow with her friend, dating and getting to know her. He asked her for advice on a dizzying range of topics.

"Stephanie, do you realise how it must have looked to him?" Lester asked

"It shouldn't matter to him. We haven't touched each other in almost a year." She snapped back. She sliced the lasagne and served it onto their two plates.

She waited in trepidation as Lester took a bite. His eyes widened and he grinned "Beautiful, this is better than mama's. Don't tell her I said that."

Steph blushed in pleasure as Lester ravaged his plate and went in for seconds. She finally took a bite herself and was pleasantly surprised as the flavours burst in her mouth.

The finished their meal and Lester stood up to dish out their dessert cheesecake when he noticed a wallet on the floor. Ranger's wallet.

He picked it up and showed it to Steph, who recognised it immediately. She had seen it lying around her home plenty of times whenever he came over to visit. Lester threw it at her as she made a catching motion. The klutz that she was, she missed the catch and the wallet dropped to the floor, falling open.

Both Steph and Lester let out a gasp as they saw the picture. It was of her from a couple of years ago. Her eyes were sparkling and her hair was wild. There was a huge smile on her face. They had been having dinner together and he'd made some comment that had her laughing so hard that her stomach hurt. He must've taken the photo then.

He kept a photo of her in his wallet. People only do that for the people they love. Not the everyday kinda love, this was the forever kind of love.

He was in love with her and he kept a photo of her in his wallet.

Suddenly, she didn't care about the dessert. She wanted to see Ranger. She wanted to see him now. Lester seemed to understand and pointedly cut out a slice for himself and put the rest of the cheesecake into the freezer.

"I'll lock up behind me Steph. I have a date with Tina later."

Steph nodded as she picked up her keys and Ranger's wallet. She was a woman on a mission.

She fobbed her way into his apartment where she found him with a tumbler of whiskey.

They faced each other for a moment, neither talking. Ranger downed the last of his whiskey, wincing as he felt the burn in his throat. He needed a bit of liquid courage to get through this conversation if things didn't go his way. He mentally catalogued the amount of alcohol he had on hand.

Before he could speak she spoke up "You forgot your wallet."

He frowned and took it from her extended hand. Is this why she came here? To return his wallet.

She spoke once again "I saw a picture of me in there."

He suddenly felt a blush spread across his face. His father had always kept a photo of his mother in his wallet. He'd told Ranger that it was the spot that belonged to a very special woman in his life and he shouldn't let just any girl into that spot.

Finding a bit of courage he spoke "That's where you keep the person you love."

"You love me?" Stephanie asked in a whisper.

He shook his head and suddenly she thought she would break into a million pieces, but he spoke again "I'm in love with you. The forever kind of love. The someday kind of love."

Unable to stand the distance anymore, he pulled her close and hoarsely spoke "I'm never letting you go again. You can only cook for me, no one else."

She giggled and spoke "I'm in love with you too, and I was going to surprise you with dinner next week."

Ranger thanked his lucky stars that he still had his Babe even after everything he had put her through.

He picked her up over his shoulder and led her to bed and proceeded to show her the many reasons why they should move in together.

~ The End ~


End file.
